EXPLORE 10X initiative seeks SA top 20 future fintech entrepreneurs

The Explore Data Science Academy (EDSA) and AlphaCode have announced EXPLORE 10X, a 12-month data science and business skills programme for 20 aspirant South African future fintech entrepreneurs.

EDSA and AlphaCode, the fintech division of Rand Merchant Investments (RMI), said EXPLORE 10X participants will go through an intensive six-month data science-training programme, where they will learn how to design a 10X business along with the core digital skills needed to build a fintech organisation.

This will be followed by three-months of business skills training, learning how to execute a 10X business strategy and to build a fintech startup. The course is sponsored by RMI and is offered at no cost to candidates. Included in the sponsorship is a stipend to cover major living expenses during the year.

“The EXPLORE 10X programme, developed by the EDSA team, provides AlphaCode access to young, bright, future fintech entrepreneurs with great ideas, which AlphaCode can then help grow their businesses and the economy at the same time,” said Dominique Collett, head of AlphaCode and senior investment executive at RMI.

Candidates interested in the programme need to submit their CV, as well as write a 750-word essay, motivating their ideas and why the world would be a better place with their business in it. Twenty of the best entries will be selected. Entries close on October 30.

“Ideal candidates for EXPLORE 10X would be young (in spirit) graduates with tech smarts, bright ideas for fintech innovation and disruption, a passion for data analytics, a desire to acquire new skills as well as the ambition and drive to build and grow a business that could impact South Africa’s fintech industry,” said Shaun Dippnall, co-founder of the Explore Data Science Academy.

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